4 Infantry Battalion

The 4th Infantry Battalion was formed during the Irish Civil War in 1923 when all troops then based in Renmore Barracks in Galway were so designated. In 1924 the new unit was transferred to Castlebar where it was commanded by Commandant John Haughey, father of Charles Haughey. In 1930, the battalion was transferred to Cork City, its base for the next eighty years. Following the declaration of The Emergency in 1939, the battalion was tasked with the protection of Foynes seaplane base and the transatlantic cable on Valentia. In May 1940 the unit became the core of a mobile column tasked with the defence of the southwest coast, and the following year became the spearhead of the newly formed 3rd Infantry Brigade.[1] The 4th Infantry Battalion at this time continued intensive training for their task and in 1944 carried out a 42-mile march with forty pounds of kit in under twelve hours, later recognised as a world record achievement.[2]